The Product CEO

This is that time of the year when multiple publications, journals and self-proclaimed pundits will come up with different listing of what 2018 holds for the product and tech community. This post is my attempt to join that bandwagon 😊 . Here are the trends that I am betting on for not just this year and in near future. This is not to say that these trends are new or starting now some of these are continuation of what started but those that I think will gain more momentum this year. Electric Vehicles I believe the future of vehicles and not just cars is electric – the question no longer is IF but WHEN? The innovation the heralded by Tesla in terms of cheaper and long-lasting batteries have opened the door to a future which is now real. If the CES showings were to any indicator, more and more start-ups and mainstream companies will ride on that bandwagon. Just to be clear it is not just about cars – the EV ecosystem is already expanding to bikes and scooters, 3-wheele

This my introductory post on this blog. So, I wanted to start with shedding some light on the title of this blog -- the product CEO. So, who is a Product CEO? Let me start off by saying that there isn’t one. At least not as a recognized job title or a designation, in most organizations.  One might be inclined to think that it is the Chief Product Office (CPO) – but that’s not who (or what) I am referring to here.   Every product manager is the CEO of the area / function / feature / whatever they are working on. This might sound like a slightly over the top assertion. So, bear with me as I lay this out. A product manager needs to think himself as the CEO of the product, in the same way as the CEO should care about everything to do with the company, a product manager should care about every aspect of the product – right from usability testing to technology to experience design marketing to messaging. There are multiple activities owned by different functions that ne